Click here to close Hello! We notice that you are using Internet Explorer, which is not supported by Xenbase and may cause the site to display incorrectly. We suggest using a current version of Chrome, FireFox, or Safari.
XB-ART-52847
Cell 2016 Apr 21;1653:704-14. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.03.028.
Show Gene links Show Anatomy links

Mechanism of NMDA Receptor Inhibition and Activation.

Zhu S , Stein RA , Yoshioka C , Lee CH , Goehring A , Mchaourab HS , Gouaux E .


???displayArticle.abstract???
N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are glutamate-gated, calcium-permeable ion channels that mediate synaptic transmission and underpin learning and memory. NMDAR dysfunction is directly implicated in diseases ranging from seizure to ischemia. Despite its fundamental importance, little is known about how the NMDAR transitions between inactive and active states and how small molecules inhibit or activate ion channel gating. Here, we report electron cryo-microscopy structures of the GluN1-GluN2B NMDA receptor in an ensemble of competitive antagonist-bound states, an agonist-bound form, and a state bound with agonists and the allosteric inhibitor Ro25-6981. Together with double electron-electron resonance experiments, we show how competitive antagonists rupture the ligand binding domain (LBD) gating "ring," how agonists retain the ring in a dimer-of-dimers configuration, and how allosteric inhibitors, acting within the amino terminal domain, further stabilize the LBD layer. These studies illuminate how the LBD gating ring is fundamental to signal transduction and gating in NMDARs.

???displayArticle.pubmedLink??? 27062927
???displayArticle.pmcLink??? PMC4914038
???displayArticle.link??? Cell
???displayArticle.grants??? [+]

Species referenced: Xenopus laevis

References [+] :
Armstrong, Measurement of conformational changes accompanying desensitization in an ionotropic glutamate receptor. 2006, Pubmed, Xenbase